Receptacle and hinge therefor



J'an. 12, 1943. E. IBACH RECEPTACLE AND HINGE THERFQR Filed Dec. 23, 1940 2 Sheets-Sheet l Jan. 12, 1943. E. IBAcH RECEPTACLE AND HINGE THEREFOR 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Dec. 2z', 1940 Patented jan. i2, i943 RECEPTACLE AND HINGE THEREFOR Emil Ibach, Chicago, El.

Application December 23, 1940, Serial No. 371,279

1 claim.

The invention relates primarily to improvements in receptacles of the hinged cover type wherein both the receptacle and the cover therefor are made of molded plastic material and one thereof equipped in its rear wall with recesses constituting female elements of hinges to receive the male hinge elements of the other, the end walls of both the female and male formations being equipped with hinge pintle receiving formations by means of which said members are subsequently pivotally associated with each other.

The primary object of the present invention is to provide hinge-pintle elements which may be primarily engaged with the foresaid male formations and so collapsed as to enable the latter to be inserted with the said female formations in snug fitting relation to the latter and by release of the collapsed hinge pintle elements become automatically pivotally engaged with the said female elements.

A further object of the invention is to provide a y receptacle equipped with a bottom element upon which contents of the receptacle are adapted to repose and which is hinged to the receptacle or cover or both on an axis coincident with the axis or axes of the pivotal connection of the receptacle and cover so that said bottom element may be raised to a position wherein the contents of the receptacle may be readily removed therefrom.

A fur-ther object of the invention is to provide means whereby the said bottom element or support may be brought to the last-named position by the cover as the latter approaches the upper or open limit of its movement.

Other objects of the invention are either particularly pointed out in or will be readily understood from the following specification.

Suitable embodiments of the invention are illustrated in the accompanying drawings Wherem:

Fig. l is a perspective view of a receptacle constructed in accordance with the invention with the cover disposed at the limit of its open position.

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary vertical transverse sectional view on an enlarged scale extending through the rear wall of the receptacle and showing the cover in closed position.

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary plan sectional view taken on the axis of the hinge connection between the receptacle and cover and extending through the middle hinge and one of the end hinges of the structure.

Fig, 4 is a detail perspective axial sectional View on an enlarged scale of one of the thimbles of the hinges of the structure.

Fig. 5 is a view in elevation partly in section of a hinge embodying the invention in a modified form.

Fig. 6 is a plan sectional view taken on the line 6-6 of Fig. 5.

Referring rst to Fig. 1, the receptacle l is provided along the upper edge of its rear wall 2 with a series of recesses 3 each having vertical end walls. Said end walls are shown in Fig. 3 to be provided with axially aligned recesses 4 adapted to receive the thimbles 5 of hinge elements. Each of the latter comprises a pair of cylindrical thimbles 5 and a compression spring 6 projecting at opposite end portions into the thimbles 5 and which is of greater normal length than the distance between the end walls of the latter.

The thimbles 5 are of appreciably greater length than the depth of the recesses 4 so that they project from said recesses and into the ends of the bores 'l of the male hinge members 8 integral with the cover 9 and which snugly t the recesses 3.

The thimbles 5 of each hinge and the spring E thereof are inserted into the bore "l of a male member 8 and said thimbles are then forced inwardly against the action of the spring 6 until the outer extremities of said thimbles are flush with the end wall of the male hinge element, the latter. being then inserted into the female clement in such position that the thimbles 5 will be l'projected into the recesses 4. To the end that these operations may be more easily accomplished, the outer extremities of the thimbles are rendered substantially semi-spherical so that they will project partly into the recesses d before the bore of the male member is axially aligned with. said recesses The hinge connection thus effected is obviously of a permanent nature.

In the instance illustrated, the hinge connection between the receptacle l and cover S comprises three hinges. The middle hinge not only pivotally associates the cover with the receptacle but also pivotally associates with both the cover and the receptacle with the bottom element Ill ofthe receptacle l upon which contents of the latter repose.

In the instance illustrated the receptacle l is adapted to contain two decks of playing cards and accordingly the said bottom member lll comprises a middle vertical wall Il and the cross-bar indicated by said numeral 10.

The thimbles 5 of the middle hinge-element or pintle are of suchl length that they pass through the formations I3, fill the recesses 4 aligned therewith and project into the hinge member I2 thus pivotally associating the receptacle I with the cover 9 and the wall II.

The hinge element I2 is equipped with a pro- A jecting rib I4 extending rearwardly and parallel with the axis of said element and in the path of the rear edge of the cover so that the latter may be raised through an arc of about eighty degrees before its rear edge engages the rib I4 and during the balance of its opening movement through an arc of about thirty degrees, said rear edge is engaged with said rib and causes the hinge element I2 to rotate through said arc of about thirty degrees, thereby to cause the wall Il and cross-bar I or bottom member to swing to the position of Fig. 1 to permit ready removal of the receptacle contents. The weight of the latter will restore the members I0 and I I to normal position and swing the cover 9 to a forwardly inclined position from which it will close by gravity. Upon removal of the contents the cover will remain open preparatory to receiving the contents and will then close automatically.

The hinge elements or projections I3 serve only to prevent distortion of the cover incident to the lifting of the contents of the receptacle as above described and its consequent disengagement from the rib I4 after partial lifting of the load on the member I0.

In Figs. 5 and 6 there is shown an ordinary leaf-hinge comprising leaves I5 and I6, the leaf I5 being equipped with end sleeves I1 between which the sleeve I8 of the leaf I6 is received. The bores of the sleeves I1 are of larger diameter at their inner than at their outer ends. the bore of the sleeve Il being of the same diameter as the larger diameter portions of the sleeves II.

The hinge pintle structure of the hinge of Figs. 5 and 6 comprises a pair of cylindrical pivot members I9 of diameter to ilt the bore of the sleeve I8, said members I9 being equipped with center projections 20 over which the ends of the compression spring 2l are disposed. The pivot members I9 are of solid metal and are provided with rounded outer ends for the same reason as applies to the thimbles 5. The smaller diameter bore portions 22 of the sleeves I1 permit the pivot members I9 to be forced inwardly against the action of the springv 2| for the purpose of disassembling the hinge, the spring 2I being of such length as to maintain the pivot members I9 firmly at the outer limits of their movement.

I claim as my invention:

A receptacle body equipped in the upper edge of a peripheral wall thereof with a plurality of spaced apart recesses, a cover equipped along an edge thereof with projections engaged in said recesses, said projections and the end Walls of said recesses being equipped with formations to receive hinge pintles, hinge pintles engaged in said formations, springs disposed within the formations of said projections and bearing upon said pintles to maintain the outer end portions thereof engaged in the formations of the end .walls of said recesses, and cover, a receptacle contents raising device disposed in the bottom of the receptacle and equipped with a projection engaged in one of the said recesses provided with said formations in its end walls and having a bore aligned with said last-named formations and with the axis of said first-named hinge pintles, spring-held hinge-pintles engaged in said bore and said last named formations for pivotally associating said raising device with the receptacle and cover for movement with respect 

